Locked Doors
by Rosie-not-Rose
Summary: The Doctor and Rose return to visit Jackie, but as usual all is not as it seems. People are being locked in their homes and even the Doctor is helpless. And just what is making everyone ill? 10Rose suggestion throughout, because I can!
1. Chapter 1

It was pitch black outside, but the creatures could see everything as clearly as on summer's day.

Not even in one's worst nightmares could one possibly imagine creatures looking as vile and gruesome as these.

The skin of the creatures was brown and shrivelled, the texture of leather – and oddly shaped, as if smudged with a clumsy finger. Their eyes were a deep purple, large and unblinking. They had small flat noses like buttons, and a tiny slit for a mouth. Their bodies were not dissimilar to that of a panther – except hunched and scrawny. Some of the creatures were larger than others – clearly, they were the elder.

Finally, after months of waiting, the day had arrived. It was time to begin. There was no turning back now.

With nervous eyes, the first creature poked its tiny head out from under the ground. The streets appeared to be deserted. Good. Everything was going to plan so far.

As if they had been spurred on by the first creature's bravery, the other creatures rapidly began to surface. Through the quiet streets they swarmed, seeking any nooks and crannies to take cover in. And there they crouched. Just waiting.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was nearly midnight. The Doctor and Rose had, once again, returned to Earth in 2006, to visit Rose's mum Jackie (Mickey was currently in a parallel world). However, hunger had, once again, struck the Doctor at an inappropriate time, just as Jackie and Rose were preparing for bed, so he had set off for the local chippy. Rose had followed him, but only, or so she said, to 'keep him in check'.

But of course, shops didn't run on a timetable to fit the Doctor's needs. At half past eleven on a Sunday night, they couldn't find a single chippy that was open. This, to Rose's surprise, prompted the Doctor to casually unlock the door of one particularly dingy shop with his trusty sonic screwdriver, stroll in and help himself to the chips left over from the day.

This was a bit too much for Rose, who found herself laughing slightly hysterically at the bizarreness of it all.

The Doctor stopped gorging himself with cold chips for a moment, and looked over at Rose. "What?" he asked in slight surprise. "Have I got something in my teeth? I never could get used to these teeth…" He ran his tongue over them.

Rose shook her head, and tried to compose herself. "Nah… it's just, I've seen so much, so many different worlds – but this, here, right now, has to be the weirdest experience of them all!"

The Doctor looked at her for a second, then gave a huge grin. "Oh. Right. Well, no normal days with the Doctor, you can be sure of that!"

And he was right. For when Rose popped to the loo in the back of the shop and the Doctor had a quick nosey in the other rooms, there was a soft creak as the front door swung to a close and locked shut, leaving them trapped inside.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Back on the Powell Estate, Jackie Tyler's eyes snapped open. She had heard a loud creak and a CLICK from downstairs. Was it Rose and himself coming back? They'd been very quick on their chip mission, if it was. She couldn't pretend she wasn't very pleased to see her daughter, but they did have a habit of turning up at the wrong time. She had friends coming round for dinner the following evening and they would only, the Doctor especially, get in the way.

Jackie fully intended to go downstairs and investigate the noise, but fell back to sleep before she could think anymore.

Meanwhile, throughout London, very few people noticed as each and every door in the city creaked to a tired close and trapped them inside their homes. However, the few that did could only tug at the door in confusion. What was going on?

The city was going into lockdown.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose returned to the front door of the shop first. She reached for the handle, intending to get some fresh air, and was startled when it wouldn't turn.

"Doctor!" she called.

The Doctor ambled out, looking bored. "Possibly the most uninteresting place I've ever set foot in – and that's saying something."

"Doctor –" Rose gestured towards the door. "I think we're locked in… God knows how."

The Doctor frowned, and reached for the door. He had no more luck, despite a large amount of impatient jiggling and tugging of the door handle. Not even the sonic screwdriver could unlock the impenetrable door – which Rose took to mean that it was a dead lock seal.

After a few moments the Doctor gave up, and, looking utterly bewildered, glanced at Rose. Rose wanted a few things explaining.

"Who would lock us in at this time of night? The shop was already closed! Also – how many humans know about dead lock seals?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Who knows? Wish I did, actually." He stared into space for a second, then sat down abruptly. Rose stared at him, a sarcastic look on her face.

"Not much use when your gadgets don't work, are ya?"

"Oi, you!" The Doctor waggled a finger at her. "I once found my way out of a 100 mile maze. No gadgets, no nothing." He grinned proudly, as if expecting praise.

Rose looked interested. "Seriously? Are there mazes that big on Earth?"

"Nah! Not Earth – Fraptona. Great planet. Full of circus freaks, juggling all around me. The snorting got a bit annoying, though."

Rose stared at him. "Erm… snorting?"

"Yeah – the people communicated by snorting rather than talking. I'd temporarily disabled the TARDIS' translator in my head, as I do sometimes – just out of interest."

There was a pause.

"Well, I was right when I said every conversation with you just goes mental," Rose murmured. She suddenly groaned slightly. Her legs felt full of pins and needles – she was tired, and had been on her feet a while now.

The Doctor noticed her discomfort, and nodded to the floor opposite him. "Here. Park your bum. I don't know how long we'll be here so you might as well get comfy."

Rose sat down and looked at him in alarm. "I don't want to sleep in a shop!"

"You may not have much choice. We don't know what's out there – could be dangerous. And I'm not really the brawling type."

"I could give them a run for their money." Rose put up her fists, and they both immediately burst out laughing.

"Anyway," the Doctor continued, when they had recovered a little. "We'll be alright. You can always use my trusty coat as a blanket when you want to sleep."

Rose yawned loudly. "Sleep doesn't sound like such a bad idea, actually. That last adventure we went on was pretty exhausting."

The Doctor grinned. "Is this the time we scratch our chins and gaze dreamily into the distance, remembering past adventures?"

"No, this is the time we dreamily remember what a comfortable bed with pillows feels like," Rose moaned.

"Quit nagging, you – this isn't my fault. Tell you what," and with this he stood up and turned to sit down next to Rose. He placed his coat round her and gently put his arm around her, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

Rose was almost asleep by this time, but she still couldn't suppress a shiver that shot through her spine at the Doctor's touch. He felt warm and comfortable, though she couldn't help making a joke.

"There's not much padding to you, is there?" she said sleepily.

The Doctor looked down at her, and couldn't help but notice they were just inches away from each other. He swallowed, then made a face. "I know – being this skinny is hard to get used to. Although it is nice to eat whatever the heck I want, and still look like a bean pole."

Rose gave a tired laugh, and murmured, "but a very nice bean pole…" and with that she was asleep.

The Doctor sat still for a few moments, then ruffled the back of his hair with his hand. He looked down at Rose, fast asleep on his shoulder, looking incredibly serene and peaceful. For a moment he just stared at her, his hearts beating rather fast, then instinctively reached out a nervous hand and touched her silky blonde hair. Running his fingers through it gently, the Doctor felt quite breathless. Then suddenly, as if realising what he was doing, he snatched his hand away, feeling quite annoyed at himself.

Hours passed, and the Doctor sank into a sort of stupor. He was too curious to sleep, he told himself – wondering how on earth he and Rose were locked inside a takeaway at midnight. However, when time passed and no solution formed in his head, the Doctor gave up. He couldn't deny that he felt very warm, comfortable and safe, and felt himself drifting off…

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Rose woke with a start in the early hours of the morning. At first she was unsure what had woken her, but as she glanced to her side she noticed the door was ajar. They were free! She shifted slightly, and realised with a grimace that her legs and backside were both completely numb. She sat still for a while, squinting slightly at the bright light filtering in through the blinds on the windows. There was a strong odour of fatty foods that Rose was quite keen to get away from, so she stood up very slowly, being careful not to wake the (to her surprise) deeply asleep Doctor, who was breathing gently. Rose glanced at him, unable to tear her eyes away. It wasn't often she saw the Doctor like this – utterly helpless, dead to the world, unable to defend himself against anything that might come his way. It was quite mesmerising, and yet slightly unnerving for Rose. She could always go up to him now, and … she quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts before they entered unfamiliar territory.

Stepping outside, Rose almost drank in the fresh, non salty air, feeling relieved. As comfortable as she may have been the night before, being trapped in a small room was not an experience Rose was keen to re-live.

The streets were deserted, and the sky was a beautiful pale orange. Rose figured it must be just after dawn. She found it rather peculiar, the stillness of it all – she wasn't used to her surroundings being so quiet. You didn't get that very often with the Doctor; it was excitement and danger, all the way. But I wouldn't change it for the world, Rose thought to herself with a grin of pleasure.

Out of curiosity, and to pass the time, Rose decided to examine the lock on the shop door. She wasn't pretending to be an expert in this area, but she was basically looking for anything out of the ordinary – a gadget perhaps, or a large box that could resemble a dead lock seal. There was nothing. Rather than alleviate Rose's suspicions, however, this only increased them. Definitely alien, she thought. And she felt a shiver go down her spine.

"Boo," said a quiet voice behind her, nearly making Rose jump out of her skin. She turned, and saw the Doctor standing there – looking surprisingly awake for someone who only minutes ago had been completely struck dumb. He was wearing his trademark smile and his hair was messily tousled. Rose glanced at this for a moment, then looked away quickly.

"Morning," she grinned. "Sleep well?"

The Doctor looked affronted. "I wasn't sleeping! I was just resting my eyes…" he trailed off, and gave her a slightly sheepish smile.

"Anyway, yeah – I can't see anything on the door to suggest a dead lock seal or anything – can you have a look?"

The Doctor nodded, suddenly becoming business-like. He took his glasses out of the inside of his coat, and put them on. Rose left him prodding and poking at the door, and wandered off down the street. There were a few people in the distance, and a few cars driving around, but everywhere was still quite peaceful and still.

There was a sudden noise behind Rose, and she turned abruptly. Nobody was there, however, and she was about to turn back when she noticed something moving on the ground. Stepping closer to it, Rose noticed it was a grate - leading to the sewers, no doubt. She reached down to it, and suddenly from beneath the grate, two horrible large purple eyes gleamed out from the darkness. Staring at her.

Rose shrieked in shock, and stumbled backwards. She felt her heart pounding in her chest. What was that thing? Where had it come from? And why was it down in the sewers?

"Rose?" Rose felt the Doctor's hand on her shoulder. She turned, still breathing rapidly, and saw that the Doctor was looking at her intently, his honest brown eyes appearing slightly worried behind his glasses. "What is it? What happened?"

Rose laughed, trying to cover up the fact that she was still trembling slightly. "Sorry, nothing – I didn't mean to scream or anything, it was just a surprise, that's all."

The Doctor frowned. "What was?"

"The weird creature thingy that peered up from under there." Rose pointed at the grate in slight trepidation.

"Creature thingy?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Mmm."

"Or is that creature whatsit? Creature doodah? Or maybe creature whoosit?"

Rose couldn't help but grin, although she tried not to. The Doctor seemed to take this as confirmation that she was alright, and knelt down beside the grate without any sign of fear. He began to unlock the bolts securing the dirty grate to the road.

Rose hung back, not burning with curiosity like she usually was. She couldn't shake off an unpleasant shaky feeling – the feeling she had experienced when the creature had appeared under the ground. She felt quite sick and her legs were jelly-like. What was the matter with her? She'd seen all sorts of things – some of them even uglier than this creature – so why was it affecting her like this?

"And we're in," the Doctor muttered as he lifted the grate clean away from the ground, and threw it aside. He shone his sonic screwdriver down the hole, and recoiled slightly. "Ugh! Talk about stinky-dinky. Well, at least we know it's definitely the sewers…"

"Yeah," was all Rose managed to croak, feeling worse by the second, much to her confusion. She suddenly bent over and vomited on the pavement. The Doctor finally seemed to notice something was wrong with Rose and crossed over to her. He didn't look too worried, however, and instructed Rose to sit down on the pavement.

"I bet it was that nut loaf your mum cooked for us earlier – I feel sick just thinking about it…"

Rose gave the Doctor a half-hearted prod in his stomach. She was already starting to feel better – it was as if the sickness had reached its climax and was gradually decreasing. She felt embarrassed for having made a bit of a scene.

"I'm fine – get back to your sewer searching," she assured him, smiling slightly. The Doctor looked her up and down closely.

"You sure? You still look a bit pale. Maybe going down a stinky sewer searching for a 'creature thingy' isn't the best thing for you right now."

Rose looked insulted. "I'm fine! You're not leaving me behind; you've done that too many times before. Just give me a minute."

The Doctor grinned, and sat down beside her. "I knew you wouldn't stay. Typical Rose – always wanting a piece of the action."

"That's me," Rose said, and she grinned back at him.


	3. Chapter 3

After a few minutes, Rose felt much better – if a little unsteady on her feet. She wobbled slightly as she stood up slowly. The Doctor instantly offered to hold her arm as they walked along and Rose blushed but declined the offer, tempting as it definitely was.

They reached the sewer entrance after a few seconds, and Rose took a deep breath, bracing herself. She couldn't say she was too keen to go traipsing down a sewer after a creature that looked as horrific as that one had done. However, nerves didn't usually wash with the Doctor, so Rose pushed the thoughts to the back of her head and focused on the job in hand. Whatever 'the job in hand' happened to be. Rose never quite knew. Find the creature, sure – but then what? The Doctor was quite proud of the fact that he made it all up as he went along. "But I do it brilliantly," he once remarked, and Rose had to agree.

The Doctor once again shone the screwdriver into the hole. "Not a big drop. Come on." He jumped first, disappearing from view. Rose was just preparing to drop in after him, when there was a groan from below and the Doctor reappeared.

"Well, I'm not fussy about most things, but that smell is disgusting…" the Doctor informed her. "I've got some very stylish gas masks back in the TARDIS - should make the air we breathe in a bit fresher down there. Come on."

The Doctor set off at a jog, and Rose followed him. However, after a minute she came to a stop, suddenly feeling ill again. It felt like the end of the flu virus, that she couldn't quite shake off. She bent over, trying not to retch again.

The Doctor turned round after a few seconds, seeming to sense she wasn't following him. He paused for a second, then jogged back to join her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I feel odd again… God sorry, I'm being such a wuss -"

"Not like you to make a fuss over nothing," the Doctor commented. He was frowning at her, but not as if he was annoyed. He looked very puzzled. His hand found its way onto Rose's back, which he rubbed gently, absent-mindedly. Rose felt the familiar tingle through her body, but ignored it. Curiosity was poking up its head, and Rose really wanted to get to the bottom of this little mystery.

"Do you have any… I dunno… devices you can use to look inside me or something, see what's causing it? It can't be a bug, it came on so suddenly…"

The Doctor said nothing for a moment, then grinned hugely. "They don't call me a Doctor for nothing, you know!"

Rose smiled back slightly, still not quite feeling herself. She didn't feel too worried, though. She was with the Doctor – he may not like to plan things, but he always pulled through. She was safe with him. She started walking slowly in the direction of the TARDIS, and the Doctor put his arm through hers to keep her steady (or so he claimed).

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Jackie finally stirred just after nine. She rolled on to her side and starred out of the window. The sky was fairly clear, if a little grey. She hoped it wouldn't rain later and spoil the dinner she had planned. Jackie smiled to herself. The Doctor may act like he knew better than everyone, but that was one thing he couldn't control – the weather. Or at least she didn't think he could… Jackie's smile faded slightly. He couldn't do something like that, surely? If Jackie thought about the Doctor too much, it just made her feel more confused than before. There was so much about him she didn't know. "And I don't think I want to know," Jackie muttered to herself.

Half an hour later, Jackie was in the kitchen eating breakfast – corn flakes, which she had never liked. Leave them a minute in the milk and they went as soggy as wet tissue paper. When Rose had lived with her, Jackie had sometimes treated them to different, more expensive food. Now she was alone… Jackie didn't bother. There was no one to enjoy it with, anyway.

She suddenly sat up straight. Rose and the Doctor! Where were they? She had thought she heard them arrive the night before, but they didn't seem to be around. Maybe they left early? Jackie didn't want Rose to go off on her travels again without spending a bit of time with her, so she pulled on yesterday's clothes, ran a quick comb through her hair and left the flat, looking for them.

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Rose and the Doctor finally reached the TARDIS, parked just below Jackie's flat. Rose sat on the console chair, relieved to be sitting down. The Doctor disappeared into another room of the TARDIS for a few minutes, then returned with his hands and pockets full of impressive looking surgical equipment. He even brought a nurses hat, for what reason Rose wasn't sure. He gave her a cheeky smile.

"Are you ready for your appointment with Dr Doctor?"

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Dr Doctor? Is that your title?"

"Well yeah, I'm the Doctor and I'm carrying out doctor-y tests…"

Rose grinned. "OK then – go on, do your worst."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "So, Miss Tyler?" he began, adopting a pompous authoritative tone. "How do you feel at this present moment in time?"

"Not bad." Rose answered, honestly. "Bit sick and shaky, but basically OK." She took the nurses hat from him. "Is this for me? I thought it'd look better on you." She reached up and perched it on top of the Doctor's head. The Doctor produced a mirror from one of his pockets, and examined his reflection. He nodded, and cocked it at a comical angle on his head. Rose took one look at him and went into fits of laughter. The Doctor couldn't help but join her.

A few moments later, the Doctor composed himself. "We really should get on, you know – for a start, Jackie'll be wondering where you've got to."

Rose swore. In the whole confusion of the illness and the sewer creature, she had almost forgotten why she was here – to visit her mum. "God yeah – I should really be getting back to her soon."

"Won't take long. I'll just find out what's inside you to make you feel ill… should be done in a jiffy." The Doctor didn't look quite as confident as he sounded. "Well, hopefully." He paused again. "I'm a bit rusty with all this equipment, but I'll try my best…"

"Come on, stop dawdling." Rose looked at him. "Where do you want me? Should I stay on the chair or -?"

"Um yeah, there's fine." The Doctor muttered, suddenly looking slightly nervous. "OK, well I'll start by listening to your chest – heart, I mean," he added hurriedly. He pulled out the stethoscope and put the earpiece in his ear. He then slightly hesitantly placed the other end on Rose's chest. There was a silence for a moment as the Doctor listened to her heartbeat. "Seems normal enough – maybe a little fast…" The Doctor looked at Rose, who tried to keep her face impassive. "You're not nervous? I may be a little rusty but I'm not about to maim you for life!"

Rose laughed. "I know. Go on, carry on, I'm fine. What else are you gonna do?" she asked.

The Doctor answered without hesitation. "Oh you know, all the usual stuff – check your temperature, your eyes, head, stomach… maybe even throat, if necessary."

"Oh, nice." Rose grimaced. "Can I have a drink beforehand, then? I doubt vomit breath is something you specialise in…"

The Doctor grinned and produced a small bottle of water from his jacket. Rose stared. "Just how much have ya got in there? Would those pockets be bigger on the inside by any chance?"

The Doctor winked at her. "Wouldn't you like to know? Anyway, let's get on otherwise we'll be spending the whole day in the TARDIS."

Rose nodded and took a large gulp of water.

The Doctor laid out all his equipment on the console chair next to Rose, and set to work. He started by shining a small light into Rose's eyes. "Mmm. Eyes are fine," he announced. Rose jokingly fluttered her eyelashes. "Can you open your mouth?"

Rose sighed, but obliged. "Apologies for the cat breath."

"Hey, once you've spent time with a farting Slitheen, you really have smelt it all…" The Doctor peered into Rose's mouth, again using the light he had used to check her eyes. Everything looked normal. "Your throat looks surprisingly alright, considering you threw up - no swelling, no rawness, nothing." The Doctor's forehead burrowed, and he said nothing for a few moments.

Rose closed her mouth and nudged him. "Um – Doctor? Have you left planet Earth? It's probably just because I had that drink of water."

"Maybe." The Doctor shook himself slightly. "Let's carry on. I want to find the answer to this particular problem…"


	4. Chapter 4

The moment Jackie reached the bottom of the stairs in her building, she noticed the TARDIS parked just outside. Good, she thought, I don't wanna be racing around everywhere like a lunatic, looking for them. If they're actually in there, anyway. She advanced on the TARDIS slowly – Jackie may have set foot in it a number of times, but it never got any less creepy. Bigger on the inside, how ridiculous…

Presently a short dumpy man strolled past, and Jackie instantly pretended to be leaning casually against the TARDIS as if having a rest. Hanging around a police box asking to be let in would look rather suspicious… As soon as the man was gone, she quickly raised her fist and knocked loudly three times on the big blue doors.

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"Are you gonna check my head?"

"Yup."

"How?"

The Doctor ignored her. He frowned and glanced around, as if looking for something. It seemed he couldn't find it, so he rummaged around in his pockets, and suddenly his face lit up. "Gotcha!" He held it out in the palm of his hand.

Rose peered at it closely. The gadget was silver and slightly scratched, and vaguely the size and shape of a small hair clip. It didn't seem to resemble anything she'd previously seen in a Doctor's surgery or at the hospital, which made her suspect it was very much 'alien'. But then again, most things with the Doctor were.

"OK," the Doctor said slowly. "I'll spare you the scientific explanation, but basically this goes in your hair and allows me to see most things inside your head – so I'll be able to see if anything's malfunctioning, etc etc…" he trailed off, and gave another grin. "Ooh, I'm very clever, aren't I, Rose? Tell me I'm a genius."

"You don't need anyone to tell ya that, you already seem pretty convinced," grinned Rose. "So what do I do – just put it in my hair like a hair slide or something?"

"Yup!" the Doctor said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "And I should get the readings on the monitor. But it's a bit tricky to get in your hair – it doesn't like to stay in."

"I'll be fine. Gimme." Rose held out her hand, and the Doctor handed the gadget over.

Several minutes later, and after five failed attempts, Rose gave up. She sighed exasperatedly. "Argh! This thing is impossible!"

The Doctor grinned at her frustration. "I'll have a go, if you want."

Rose looked taken aback. "Oh…alright."

The Doctor took the gadget back off her, and moved round to her side. He paused for a split second, and with hesitant yet gentle fingers, pushed Rose's hair back behind her ear. The back of his hand came to rest on her cheek, and he stroked it gently with his thumb without realising what he was doing. Rose couldn't suppress a shiver, and the Doctor seemed to come to his senses. He whipped his hand away, and could feel the heat rushing to his face. Why had he done that? Why hadn't he controlled himself?

He dared not look at Rose for a few seconds, preferring to focus on the console chair. He felt horrified in case he had given himself away. After a moment he chanced a glance at Rose, and was slightly relieved to see that she was also looking nervously in another direction. However, she didn't look horrified – her expression was quite hard to read.

After a few more moments silence, the Doctor decided to try and act as if everything was fine, hoping this would relax the atmosphere a bit and bring things back to normal. He couldn't think of anything else to do. Taking a deep breath, he reached up to Rose's hair again nervously. Rose jumped slightly at his touch, but soon relaxed. After a few seconds, the Doctor's deft fingers meant the gadget was firmly in place. The Doctor's hand dropped back limply to his side.

Rose felt her head. "Ooh! Well done! Better than I could do."

"Just call me Dr Doctor." the Doctor remarked, attempting to give her a confident grin. Rose suddenly turned to him and fixed him with an innocent but puzzled gaze, her eyes boring into his. It was as if she was trying to read his thoughts, to try and understand what was going through his mind. The Doctor found this level of intimacy uncomfortable after what had just happened, so he looked away and turned to the monitor, where complicated shapes were beginning to emerge.

"Aha! We're in business!" the Doctor yelled. "Just keep that thing in your hair while I read the monitor, should only take a minute or so." He kept his back to Rose.

Rose frowned at the back of his head, but didn't say anything except "Alright". The Doctor set to work on the console, frowning in concentration, occasionally pressing a button or tapping the screen. Rose peered over his shoulder. The monitor was a chaotic confusion of different shapes and lines overlapping each other. It was quite arty, but it made no sense to Rose. The Doctor seemed to understand it perfectly, though.

"Hmm. Hmm. Hmm…" The Doctor announced quietly after a few minutes.

"And hmm to you too… what does it say?"

"Not sure."

"Eh? Gadget failed ya again, has it?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Everything's working fine. There's a block – something's stopping me getting the information I need. And I can't get past it – which is saying something, considering I'm very very clever," he added, without a trace of cockiness.

"But – what could be blocking it?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I have no idea…" He picked up a thin piece of what looked like wire. "I'll try checking your stomach, see if we have any more luck."

"And then we're done, yeah? I really need to get back to Mum, she'll be going spare."

"Yup, last thing, promise." He paused. "You erm… you need to put this round your waist, like a belt."

Rose nodded. "Is this a bit easier than the hair clip thingy?"

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, we're back to 'thingy' again, are we?"

"Well, what's it actually called?"

"A bidax."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "Mmm. Maybe 'thingy' is better… anyway, let me try this belt – how does it work?" She fiddled around for a second, but seemed unable to clip the wire in place. She glanced up at the Doctor. "Can you help me again?" she asked, a nervous smile playing on her lips.

The Doctor tried to act nonchalant. "You're not very good with this stuff, are you? Stand up, then." Rose stood up and moved closer to him, handing him the wire. The Doctor fumbled slightly with it, then leant towards Rose and fed the wire round her waist. He purposely didn't look at her, and tried to think of very unpleasant things to cancel out the overwhelming emotion he knew he really shouldn't be feeling… He couldn't help noticing that the T-shirt Rose was wearing was fairly short, showing her waist slightly, and his fingers accidentally brushed lightly against her skin as he clipped the wire belt into place.

"Right, all done." The Doctor said in a slightly higher voice than usual. Rose cleared her own throat. She looked very flushed. She opened her mouth hesitantly, paused, and then closed it again, before opening it and closing it a second time.

The Doctor couldn't help but laugh. "Have you taken goldfish lessons, or does it come naturally?" Rose tried to frown, but found she couldn't – his laugh was infectious. This considerably lightened the mood, and they both felt slightly more relaxed again. The Doctor looked as if he wanted to say something too, but before he could even open his mouth, there were three loud knocks on the door.


End file.
